Demonstrators at the NHS ConfedExpo 2024 conference in Manchester, UK, disrupted a session earlier today to protest against the conference’s sponsorship by data analysis firm Palantir Technologies.
Palantir entered into a controversial £330m deal with the NHS back in 2023 to operate the Federated Data Platform (FDP). According to the NHS, the FDP will join up key information currently held in separate NHS systems to tackle some of the big challenges faced by the health service. However, questions were quickly raised about the company’s ethics and patient privacy fears.
The campaigners, who are believed to be from Health Workers for a Free Palestine, targeted a panel session on 13 June to express their objection to Palantir’s partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense to supply technology to help the country’s military efforts. The agreement – covered by Bloomberg UK – was announced in January 2024, but no further details about what technology would be provided were disclosed.
Tom Mcardle, UK health lead at Palantir, was addressing the delegates when several protestors in the audience stood up and delivered monologues, with one saying: “How can the NHS possibly justify working with a war profiteer who vocally supports the Israeli military?” At the same time, two campaigners stood in front of the stage unveiling a flag which read “No Palantir in our NHS”.
In February 2024, law campaigners launched legal proceedings against NHS England in a pursuit to reveal the contents of the contract with Palantir. Not-for-profit law organisation the Good Law Project (GLP), claimed that 417 out of 586 pages have been ‘completely blanked out’ and has started legal proceedings against NHS England. The organisation previously raised concerns about Palantir being awarded the FDP contract due to the ‘company’s questionable history’.
In April 2024, hundreds of NHS workers staged a protest outside the NHS England building, calling for the NHS to scrap ties with the company. Palantir was co-founded by controversial billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who supported Donald Trump in 2016 and has significant personal history with Neuralink founder Elon Musk.
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